“I am the forest,
I am ancient.
I treasure the stag,
I treasure the deer.
I shelter you from storm,
I shelter you from snow.
I resist the frost,
I keep the source.
I nurse the earth,
I am always there.
I build your house,
I kindle your hearth.
Therefore, you people,
hold me dear.”

– Inscription found in a 17th century forester’s house in Lower Saxony, Germany (via midwintercrone)